مَاءِwater

Example sentences

• فتخضع الْأَعْنَاق وتنكسر النُّفُوس وتخشع الْأَصْوَات ويذوب الْكبر كَمَا يذوب الْملح فِي المَاء،

  So necks are humbled, souls are broken, voices become subdued, and arrogance melts like salt in water.

  الْمَاءِ — water. In the genitive after 'in', definite — completing 'salt in water'. The vivid close of the simile.

  From: Reflecting on God's Names →

• فَمَلأَهُ بِالْمَاءِ وَأَدْنَاهُ مِنَ الْمِصْبَاحِ، فَلَمْ يَزَلْ قَائِمًا وَهُوَ فِي يَدِهِ حَتَّى أَصْبَحَ

  So he filled it with water and placed it nearer to the lamp, and he did not cease standing while it was in his hand until morning came.

  بِالْمَاءِ — with water. The bi- here marks the content he filled it with, the 'with' of material rather than mere company. It fuses with a noun carrying al- 'the' and pulls it into the genitive form. It tells you what the vessel was filled with: the water.

  From: A Son Protecting His Father →

• فَصَبَبْتُ مِنَ الْمَاءِ عَلَى اللَّبَنِ حَتَّى بَرَدَ أَسْفَلُهُ،

  So I poured water over the milk until its bottom cooled.

  الْمَاءِ — the water. A definite noun, the water, governed by the 'from' before it, so it sits in the 'of'-style ending; its 'al-' (the) makes it definite. It names the substance poured over the milk. The preposition is what assigns it that ending.

  From: A Night with the Prophet →